Ubisoft Nominates New Independent Directors in Latest Move to Fight Off Vivendi Control

July 7, 2016
Written by Zarmena Khan

The last time Vivendi increased its stake in Ubisoft, the company made its intentions quite clear: it wants a “recomposition of the Ubisoft Board of Directors in order to, among other things, obtain Board representation consistent with its shareholder position.” Although the French media conglomerate has said on numerous occasions that it has no plans for an actual takeover or control of Ubisoft, the developer isn’t too convinced (especially after seeing Gameloft’s fate) and has made several moves to retain control.

In its latest move, Ubisoft’s Board of Directors has nominated two new independent directors that they believe will bring “valuable and complementary experience” to the company. As reported by GamesIndustry, CEO Yves Guillemot said in a statement that Frederique Dame and Florence Naviner have extensive and relevant international careers.

Their international careers are perfectly consistent with the profile of Ubisoft, which generates more than 90% of its revenues abroad.

They will bring Ubisoft valuable and complementary experience; Frédérique will especially allow us to benefit from her deep expertise in digital customer experience and her extensive network in the Silicon Valley’s ecosystem; Florence will bring a detailed knowledge of all financial and strategic issues a large global group in the consumer industry faces. These are valuable assets to the Board at a time where Ubisoft has set itself an ambitious roadmap.

Both nominees need to be approved by the shareholders’ general meeting on September 29.